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TICKET PRINTING AND ISSUING MACHINE Filed-April 6, 1953 5vSl'leelLS-Sheel; l

""My 3,1955 c. w. ADsHEAD TICKET PRINTING AND ISSUING MACHINE 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1953 May 31571955 C. w. ADSHEAD 2,707,431

TICKET PRINTING 4AND ISSUING MACHINE Filed April e, 195s 5 shee'ts-sheeis May 3, 1955 c. w. ADSHEAD 2,707,431

TICKET PRINTING AND ISSUING MACHINE Filed April 6, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4May 3, 1955 c. w. ADsHEAD TICKET PRINTING AND ISSUING MACHINE FiledApril 6, 195s 5 Sheets-Shout 5 United States Patent O TICKET PRINTINGAND ISSUING MACHINE Charles William Adshearl, Walthamstow, London,

land, assignor to Setright Registers England, a British companyApplication April 6, 1953, Serial No. 346,864 Claims priority,application Great Britain April 15, 1952 8 Claims. (Cl. lOl-69) Eng-Limited, London,

The invention relates to` ticket printing and issuing machines of thekind comprising strip-printing and stripfecding mechanisms for printingtickets on a strip and for issuing the tickets after printing.

In the specification of United States No. 2,659,300 issued on November17th, 1953 there is described a ma- A automatic operation of theselected `printing and issuing mechanisms to print and issue any one ofa range of quantities of tickets (say 1, 2; 3 or 4 tickets).

The present invention has for its object the provision in the machine asdescribed in the above specification of improved driving means foreffecting operation of the printing and feeding mechanisms to print andissue any one of the predetermined quantities of tickets.

The invention provides, in a machine of the above kind, driving meansfor eifecting operation of the printing and feeding mechanisms to printand issue any selected one of a number of predetermined quanti-ties oftickets, comprising, a driving member, a releasable driving connectionbetween the driving member and the printing and feeding mechanisms, arotatable control member, means constantly urging the control member forrotation from a home station, releasa'ble holding means preventing suchrotation, a group of independently operable quantity selecting` meanseach operable to release the holding means to permit rotation of thecontrol member and also to effect the aforesaid driving connection,rotation-limiting means associated with the quantity selecting means tolimit the rotation of the control member to different angles of rotationdependent upon the quantity control means, means for returning thecontrol member to the home station during the resultant operation of theprinting and feeding mechanism and means for releasing the drivingconnection when the control member reaches the home station, the extentof operation of the printing and issuing mechanism before release of thedriving connection being determined by the angle through which thecontrol means `is rotated.`

Preferably the Y rotation limiting means `comprise a group of stopmembers (one for each quantity selecting means.) rotatable with thecontrol member and having stop faces at different angular positions,around the axis of rotation in combination with a corresponding group ofcooperating stop members movable with the several quantity selectingmeans respectively each into. the' path of the corresponding stop facefor engagement thereby to limit the angle of rotation of thecontrolmember.

The driving means may comprise,

i (a) A rotatable driving member,

2,707,431 Patented May 3, 1955.

(b) A rotatable primary driven member operatively connected to theprinting and feeding means,

(c) A releasable pawl and ratchet driving coupling between the drivingmember and the primary driven member,

(d) A rotatable control member having an abutment which is rotatablewith the control member to and from a position in which the abutmentlies in the path of the pawl asl the pawl rotates and serves on contactby the pawl to disengage the ,pawl from the ratchet and thereby torelease the drive,

(e) A group of independently manually operable quantity selectingmembers appropriated respectively to the aforesaid quantities oftickets,

(f) Means for constantly urging the control member and the abutment forrotation away from the ,pawl-dia engaging position of the abutment,

(g) Means for holding the control member and the abutment against suchrotation,

(h) Means operable by each of the quantity selecting members to releasethe control member and abutment from the holding means for rotation asaforesaid thereby to permit the pawl to engage the ratchet and establisha driving connection between the driving member and the primary drivenmember,

(i)` Means for limiting the extent of such rotation of the QOntrolmember according to the particular quantity selecting means operated,and

(i) A re-setting drive between the primary driven member and the controlmember to re-set the control member to the pawl-disengaging position ofthe abutment after the primary driven member has been rotated a numberof times determined by the extent of rotation as aforesaid of thecontrol member, to effect printing and issue of the quantity of ticketsselected.

The means set forth in paragraph (f) above may com-V prise a springwhich is energised during the re-setting movement of the control member.

The means set fort-h in paragraph (i) above may comprise a` group ofstop members (one for each of the quantity selecting members) rotatablewith the control member and Ahaving stop faces at different angularpositions and, for each quantity selecting member, a co-operating stopmember which is moved, on operation of the member, into the path ofrotation of the appropriate stop face for engagement thereby to limitthe angle of rotation of the control member.

The means set forth in paragraph (g) above may comprise a shaft, a camon the shaft and movable by rotation .of the shaft to and from aposition in which it holds the control member and abutment as aforesaid,a series of arms on the shaft, one for each quantity selecting member,and a series of abutments associated respectively with the `arms andquantity selecting members and each movable by its associated member toengage the arm to effect rotation of the shaft and thereby to move thecam from the position in which it holds the control member.

The means set forth in paragraph (j) may comprise a cam on the primarydriven member, a ratchet -wheel rotatable with the control member, arocker arm having a follower for co-operation with the cam and a paw-lengageable with the ratchet wheel to effect `partial oneway rotationthereof and of the control member `towards the pawl-.disengagingposition on each rocking movement ofthe rocker arm produced by the camon rotation of `the primary driven member.

The abutment may be a member (e. g. a roller) attached to `the `controlmember for movement therewith or it may `be constituted by a part of thecontrol member itself (e. g. a face thereon).

One specific construction of a machine according to 3 the invention willnow be described by way of example and with reference to the drawings inwhich:

Figure l is a plan view, with the cover removed, of the quantityselecting part of the machine,

Figure 2 is a view in the direction II-II of Figure 1, showing the partsbefore operation of a quantity control push button,

Figure 3 is a view corresponding to Figure 2 showing the partsimmediately after operation of the push button relating to the issue ofa single ticket,

Figure 4 is a View in the direction IV--lV in Figure l, and

Figure 5 is a view in the direction V-V in Figure l.

In the machine forming the subject of this example the means forprinting tickets on the strips, for issuing the tickets after printingand for preselecting any one of the printing and issuing mechanisms foroperation are as described and shown in United States Patent No.2,659,300 and further description of them here is accordinglyunnecessary. The following description relates to mechanism forselecting the quantity of tickets to be issued at any operation andreplaces the mechanism shown in Figure 2C of the drawings of thespecification of United States Patent No. 2,659,300.

As in the construction described in United States Patent No. 2,659,300the machine is driven by an electric motor 1 which is energized ondepression of any one of the quantity selecting push buttons 2 anddrives through a worm 3 a wormwhcel 4 mounted for rotation on a shaft 5which corresponds to the shaft 215 in the previous construction. Securedto the worm-wheel for rtation therewith is a wheel 6 having dog teeth 7.Secured to the shaft there is a disc S carrying on one face aspring-urged driving pawl lever 9. This lever is arranged to engage inthe dog teeth 7 (see Figure 3) so that during engagement of the pawlwith one of the teeth the shaft 5 is positively rotated by the motor.

Parallel to the shaft 5 there is a shaft 10 on which is mounted acontrol member 11 in the form of a radial arm. This member carries aroller 12 which constitutes an abutment for engaging the tail of thepawl lever 9 to disengage the pawl from the dog teeth 7. Secured to theshaft there is an arm 13 to which is attached a spring 14 urging the armand shaft to rotate in the anti-clockwise direction. The arm 13 when atthe limit of its movement in the clockwise direction as shown in Figure2 engages a micro-switch 15 to hold the switch open. This switchcontrols the motor and effects energisation of the motor when allowed toclose by movement of the arm in the anti-clockwise direction (e. g. tothe position shown in Figure 3).

Secured to the shaft 10 there are also four arms 17, 18, 19 and 20appropriated to the four push buttons respectively and at differentangular positions on the shaft.

Each push button is attached to the end of a bar 22 which is guided forlongitudinal movement on depression of its button. Adjustable stops 23limit the movements of the bars. Each bar is formed with a notch 24which serves as a stop limiting the movement of the arms f 17-20associated with the push button when the bar is at the limit of itsinward movement.

Below the bars 22 there is a further shaft 26 parallel to the shafts 5and 10. This shaft carries a cam 27 which engages the control member 11to hold it in the position in which the abutment roller 12 disengagesthe pawl 9. The shaft 26 also carries four arms 28 positioned forengagement respectively by rollers 29 on the bars 22, the arrangementsbeing that depression of any one of the buttons rocks the shaft 26 inthe anti-clockwise direction to disengage the cam 27 from the controlmember 11 so permitting the shaft 10 to rotate under the action of thespring 14 to the limit determined by engagement with the bar 22 of thebutton which has been depressed, of the particular one ofthe arms 17-20associated with that button.

There is a ratchet wheel 30 secured to the shaft 10 and cooperating withthis ratchet wheel there are two pawls 31, 32. The pawl 31is carried ona rocker arm 34 on the shaft 10. This arm has a roller 35 which engageswith an eccentric 36 on the shaft 5. When the pawl is at the limit ofits return movement (i. e. at the limit of the anti-clockwise movementof the arm 34 as shown in Figure 4) a dependent tail on the pawl engagesa stop pin 37 to hold the pawl off the ratchet wheel 30. Each revolutionof the shaft 5 causes the pawl 31 to engage the ratchet wheel and tofeed the ratchet wheel one tooth.

The pawl 32 constitutes a non-return pawl for the ratchet wheel and ispivoted to the frame of the machine at 38. The tail end of the pawllever is arranged for engagement by a roller 39 on an arm 40 attached tothe shaft 26, so that in one position of the shaft 26 (i. e. that shownin Figures 2 and 4) the non-return pawl is held olf the ratchet wheel.Movement of the shaft 26 resulting from depression of any one of thepush buttons moves the roller away from the pawl.

There is a stop member 42 pivotally supported on the shaft 10 and heldagainst a stop pin 43 on the arm 34 by a spring 44. The stop memberserves by engagement with a pad 46 secured to the pawl 32 to hold thatpawl off the ratchet wheel after its release by lever until the rockerarm 34 has begun its clockwise stroke carrying the stop member with it.A spring 47 maintains the roller 35 in engagement with the eccentric 36.

The arm 13 in its return movement opens the switch 15 before completionof the issue of the last ticket and to ensure that the issue shall becompleted there is provided a second micro-switch 50 connected inparallel with the switch 1S. This switch is opened at the end of theoperation of the machine by a pin 51 on a slide bar 52 which engageswith a blade 53 pressing on the switch plunger. The bar 52 is engaged bya cam 54 on the shaft 5 which permits the bar to move to the left whenthe operation of the machine has been completed.

Associated with each of the bars 22 there is a locking arm 55 carried ona shaft 56. These arms 55 are operable to engage in notches 57 in thebars 22 to prevent depression of any of the push buttons 2 unless avalue selecting button has previously been depressed. The depression ofa value selecting button rotates an arm 58 (Figure 5) in the clockwisedirection to allow a counterweight 59 to rock the shaft 56 and so tolift the arms 55 clear of the bars 22.

Dependent from the shaft 10 there is an arm 60 which has at its lowerend a hook 61 positioned to intercept the pin 62 on a disc 63 rotatableon the shaft 5. The disc 63 is coupled by a spring 64 to a gear 66secured to the shaft 5 so that the device constitutes an inertiaabsorbing stop for the drive mechanism. The hook 61 is moved out of thepath of the pin 62 on rotation of the shaft 10 when the control member11 is released.

During the operation of the machine after the depression of one of thebuttons 2, the cam 27 is locked by the control member 11 as shown inFigure 3. At the completion of the operation the cam 27 is released andthe shaft 26 is rotated by spring 68 and arm 69 to restore the pushbutton to its initial position and to prepare the mechanism for the neXtoperation.

The machine includes means for preventing operation of a value selectingbutton while the machine is in operation. These means cooperate with theslide 337 described in United States Patent No. 2,659,300 and shown moreparticularly in Figure 12 of the drawings of that specification. Themeans consist of bar 52 and a further bar which are movable to the rightas viewed in Figure 2 to lie in the path of a dependent portion added tothe slide 337, Figure 3 shows bar 70 so moved and in this position theslide 337 is locked and so prevents operation of the value buttons. Bar70 is pivotally attached to a pin 71 on cam 27 and the movements of thebar are effected by the rotation of the cam. The return movement of thecam occurs before issue of the last ticket has been completed and toensure that the buttons remain lock u-ntil issue is completed. The bar`52 is held in the path of slide 337 until it is released by cam 54 asalready described.

Operation In the machine forming the subject of this example the arms17, 18,` `19 and 20 are set for the isshe of one, two, three or fourtickets respectively. The actual number of tickets 'to be issued on theoperation of the several buttons may, however, be modified in anydesired way, up to a maximum of ten tickets, by changing the relativeangular positions of the arms. The operation of the machine to issue,say, a single ticket of a particular value, is as follows. The operatordepresses the value selecting button appropriate to the value of theticket required. The operator then depresses the one-ticketse'lectingbutton 2 which moves the bar 22 to the left as viewed in Figure 3 androtates the shaft -26 to release the control 'member 11 from engagementby the cam 27. The shaft is then rotated by the spring 14 anticlockwiseuntil the arm 17l engages in the notch 24 in the bar 223 At the sametime the switch is allowed by movement of the `arm 13 to close and tostart the motor. Rotation `of the shaft 26 frees the pawl 32 from itsengagement with the rollerf39 but the pawl is held olf the ratchet wheelby the member 42. The pawl 31 is also held oit the ratchet wheel and`consequently the wheel is permitted to rotate with the shaft 10 in theanti-clockwise direction to the extent limited by the arm 17 as alreadydescribed.

The movement of the control member 11 and abutment 1.2 permits the pawl9 to engage with one of the dogteetfh 7 and the drive from the motorthereby to be transmitted to shaft 5. Cam 36 is accordingly rotated inthe'iclockwise `direction to rock arm 34 and to engage the pawl 31 withthe ratchet wheel 30 and so to turn the wheel by one tooth. Arm 34carries with it member 42 which releases pawl 32 to engage the ratchetwheel and to prevent return movement. The single revolution of shaft 5is transmitted to the ticket issuing mechanism to cause it to print andissue a single ticket.

The rotation of the shaft 10 by the single notch of the ratchet wheelrestores the control member 11 and abutment 12 into the position shownin Figure 2 in which the abutment knocks the driving pawl 9 out ofengagement with the dog teeth and so disconnects the drive. The cam 27is permitted to return to the position shown in Figure 2 which allowsthe shaft 26 to rotate and so to restore the push button and todisengage the pawl 32 from the ratchet wheel. The member 42 then servesto hold the pawl olf the wheel.

The motor is stopped at the end of the operation by opening of themicro-switch after the micro-switch 15 has been opened by arm 13.

If it is desired to issue another number of tickets7 say four, thefour-ticket button is depressed which allows shaft 10 to rotate by thegreater amount (equal to four teeth of the wheel 30) necessary to bringarm 20 into engagement with the bar 22 of the four ticket button. It isthen necessary for the shaft 5 to make four revolutions before thecontrol member is restored to its initial position and the operation ofthe machine is stopped.

It is not essential that the push buttons employed in the machine have areciprocatory movement as described and shown. They may, for example, bein the form of pivoted dollies and the term push-button is used hereinto include such dollies.

I claim:

1. In a ticket printing and issuing machine of the kind comprisingstrip-printing and strip-feeding mechanisms for printing tickets on astrip and for issuing the tickets after printing; driving means foreffecting operation of the printing and feeding means to print and issueany selected one of a number of predetermined quantities of tickets,comprising, (a) a rotatable driving member, (b) a rotatable primarydriven member operatively connected to the printing and feeding means,(c) a releasable pawl and ratchet driving coupling between the -drivingmember and the primary driven member, (d) a rotatable control memberhaving an abutment which is rotatable with the control member to andfrom a position in which the abutment lies in the path of the pawl asthe pawl rotates and serves on contact by the pawl to disengage the pawlfrom the ratchet and thereby to release the drive, (e) a group ofindependently manually operable quantity selecting members appropriatedrespectively to the aforesaid quantities of tickets, (f) means forconstantly urging the control member and the abutment for rotation awayfrom the pawl-disengaging position of the abutment, (g) means forholding the control member and the abutment against such rotation, (l1)means operable by each of the quantity selecting members to release thecontrol member and abutment from the holding means for rotation asaforesaid thereby to permit the pawl to engage the ratchet and establisha driving connection between the driving member and the primary drivenmember, (i) means for limiting the extent of such rotation of Ithecontrol member `according to the particular quantity selecting memberoperated, comprising a series of arms, one for each quantity selectingmember, mounted at different angular positions around a common axis atdifferent positions `along that axis and rotatable with the controlmember, the different angular positions corresponding to the different`limited degrees of rotation of the control member, `and `for eachquantity selecting member apart thereof which is movable on manualoperation of the quantityselecting member from a position in which itl-ies outside the path of rotation of the arm associated with thequantity-selecting member to a position in which it lies in that pathand so constitutes a stop limiting rotation of the arm, and (j) are-setting drive between the primary driven member and the controlmember to re-set the control member to the pawl-disengaging position ofthe abutment after the primary driven member has been rotated a numberof times determined by the extent of rotation as `aforesaid of thecontrol member, to effect printing and issue of the quantity of ticketsselected.

2. ln a ticket printing and issuing machine of the kind comprisingstrip-printing and strip-feeding mechanisms for printing tickets on astrip and for issuing the tickets after printing; driving means asclaimed in claim l in which the means identified as (f) of the claimcomprise a spring which is energised during the re-setting movement ofthe control member.

3. In a ticket printing and issuing machine of the kind comprisingstrip-printing and strip-feeding mechanisms for printing tickets on astrip and for issuing the tickets after printing; driving means asclaimed in claim 1 in which the means for holding the control member andthe abutment in the pawl-disengaging position comprise a shaft, a cam onthe shaft and movable by rotation of the shaft to and from a position inwhich it holds the control member and abutment as aforesaid, a series ofarms on the shaft, one for each quantity selecting member, and a seriesof abutments associated respectively with the arms and quantityselecting members and each movable by its associated member to engagethe arm to effect rotation of the shaft and thereby to move the cam.from the position in which it holds the control member.

4. In a ticket printing and issuing machine of the kind comprisingstrip-printing and strip-feeding mechanisms for printing tickets `on astrip and for issuing the tickets after printing; driving means asclaimed in claim 1 in which the resetting drive between the primarydriven member and the control member, identified as (j) in claim l,comprises a cam on the primary driven member, a ratchet wheel rotatablewith the control member, a rocker arm having a follower for co-operationwith the cam and a pawl engageable with the ratchet wheel to effectpartial one-way rotation thereof and of the control member towards thepaWl-disengaging position on each rocking movement of the rocker armproduced by the cam on rotation of the primary driven member.

5. In a ticket printing and issuing machine of the kind comprisingstrip-printing and strip-feeding mechanisms for printing tickets on astrip and for issuing the tickets after printing; means as claimed inclaim 4 in which the pawl is operative in one direction of rockingmovement of the arm and the return stroke of the arm is idle and inwhich there is included means for holding the paWl oii the ratchet wheelwhen the rocker arm is at the end of the idle stroke.

6. In a ticket printing and issuing machine of the kind comprisingstrip-printing and strip-feeding mechanisms for printing tickets on astrip and for issuing the tickets after printing; driving means asclaimed in claim 4 and including a non-return pawl for engaging theratchet wheel, means for disengaging the non-return pawl from theratchet wheel and for holding the pawl so disengaged during rotation ofthe control member away from the drivingpawl-disengaging position andmeans for releasing the non-return pawl to engage the ratchet wheelduring the return of the control member to Vthe driving-paWl-disengagingposition.

7. In a ticket printing and issuing machine of the kind comprisingstrip-printing and strip-feeding mechanisms for printing tickets on astrip and for issuing the tickets for printing; driving means as claimedin claim 1 in which the part of the quantity-selecting member which ismovable on manual operation of the member identified as (i) of claim 1comprises, for each member, a bar and means are provided for guiding thebar for endwise movement.

8, ln a ticket printing and issuing machine of the kind comprisingstrip-printing and strip-feeding mechanisms for printing tickets on astrip and for issuing the tickets after printing; driving means foreffecting operation of the printing and feeding mechanisms to print andissue any selected one of a number of predetermined quantities oftickets, comprising, a driving member, a driven member connected to theprinting and feeding mechanisms to effect operation thereof, areleasable driving connection between the driving member and the drivenmember, a rotatable control member, means constantly urging 4thecon-trol member for rotation from a home station, releasable holdingmeans preventing such rotation, a group of independently operablequantity selecting means each operable to release the holding means topermit rotation of the control member and also to effect the aforesaiddriving connection, rotation-limiting means associated with the quantityselecting means to limit the rotation of the control member to differentangles of rotation dependent upon the quantity control means, andcomprising a group of stop members, one for each quantity selectingmeans, rotatable with the control member and having stop faces atdifferent angular positions around the axis of rotation in combinationwith a corresponding group of cooperating stop members movable with theseveral quantity selecting means respectively each into the path of thecorresponding stop face for engagement thereby to limit the angle ofrotation of the control member, means for returning the control memberto the home station during the resultant operation of the printing andfeeding mechanism and means for releasing the driving connection whenthe control member reaches the home station, the extent of operation ofthe printing and issuing mechanism before release of the drivingconnection being determined by the angle through which the control meansis rotated.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

